Sometimes I feel like I just don't measure up as a mom (see the last picture from the previous post where my son is extremely upset because I am working and can't put him to bed)... especially now that I am trying to meet the needs of two children. Rather than focus on the bad, I'm going to focus on the things I am doing that are worth recognizing and giving myself credit for in this post. :)
Do I get good mom points for having such cute clothes for such a beautiful girl? :) ( ...especially when those clothes are bought at a great discount at a second hand store?!!)
Do I get good mom points for making sure she gets enough food and breast milk to have those chubby cheeks?
(Landen absolutely loves his Emmalyn)
What about for trying a "trick" I saw online for bath time - - put them in a laundry basket and it will keep the toys close to them? (The trick didn't talk about how silly this approach is if they want to just stand up the whole time - we never tried this again. It's just easier to shower and hold her on my lap the whole time rather than lean over the bathtub and keep fighting to get her to sit down.)
Do I get good mom points for bringing the kids grocery shopping with us instead of leaving them at home with Brittany? (note the darling shoes from Aunt Tawny)
Do I get good mom points for making homemade, organic baby food?
At least I can get some points for finding such adorable leggings, right?
Maybe I can get good mom points for staying up late putting in lots of hours creating a photo book for each month of Emmalyn's first year while listening to DMB?
I really do try my best and some days my best might not be good enough but dang-it, I do a lot that many moms don't do. I need to remember that when I am tempted to just focus on the things that they ARE doing and I'm not.
Emmalyn had her 9 month check up. I can't believe that the next time we will be back at the doctor's she will be 1!
She was a happy camper
Here's the questionnaire I filled out on her development.
She had her finger pricked and picked at that bandaid after until she got it off.
Here's her stats from her 9 month visit:
Weight: 14 lbs 7 oz, 3rd Percentile
Height: 25.5 in, 1st Percentile
Head: 16.8 in, 19th Percentile
She dropped in every area but her pediatrician didn't even bring that up. He said she was healthy and her development was excellent. 1st percentile on height!!! Sheesh, my tiny little princess.
After her Dr's visit, we went to the grocery store and I put her in the shopping cart seat for the very first time.
Video - Excited to be in the shopping cart!
Poor girl had to get one shot
Maxwell reading books with daddy before bedtime
Go BYU!
Enjoying ice cream, even though it's winter
Fun family time at the bowling alley
We brought along Landen with us
Maxwell helping the boys
The best leg warmers for black lights!
Lining up his shot
Video - Maxwell totally gets how important it is to aim the ball at the pins, watch him adjust the ramp for his shot
Playing a little at the arcade after our bowling game was over. This is something Peter's family always does when they bowl. I don't remember ever doing the arcade with my family.
Everyone had a fun time! It's fun to get a chance to hang out with just Landen.
Maxwell wrote the names of everyone in his family on his white board.
Dad is in the top left corner, Mom in the bottom left, Emmalyn on the bottom right, and Max is just above that. He's doing a great job learning how to write his letters.
I took the kids to the park on a sunny Sunday afternoon to get some time outside of the house. We first enjoyed some snacks on the blanket before Maxwell and I pitched some balls for Maxwell to hit and then we went to the playground.
I let Emmalyn "walk" around for the first time really
If you watch closely, she will stand on her own for a second or two every once in awhile when she's not paying attention to what she's doing but I can't get her to do it on command or anything like that.
Maxwell is finally getting big enough that he can sort of use this toy in the way it was intended. I still think this toy, while fun, shouldn't be at the park because it's so easy for little fingers to be pinched between the rollers. I get incredibly nervous watching him each time he gets on it.
Video - Maxwell has Chinese class once a week at Montessori. Here's a couple of the things he has learned to say in Chinese...
Having fun kicking the ball in the media room
Uh oh, she's getting to the point that she can start grabbing things off the kids table.
So glad she doesn't have my nose!
Maxwell wanted to take a picture of me holding this ornament he made at school with his school picture - it's a mitten
Max drew this, it's the first time he's drawn a true person with limbs, hair, etc.
Sweet baby sleeping in her crib! (She's wiggling her arms out of the swaddle blanket now.) She wants to sleep on her belly even though we put her to sleep on her back. We've let her have the pillow because that's how she wants to sleep and since she can easily roll over now, I feel like it's not a danger anymore.
This week we finally buckled down (thanks Peter for making us do it) and started sleep training Emmalyn in her crib (after we lowered it). Brittany started it during the day and we now have to keep it going. The first night it took about 15 minutes to get her down. She was soooooo mad at us but then once she fell asleep she slept until 3 am! At that point Peter got up to help her go back to sleep (it couldn't be me or she would want to nurse) until 5. When she got up at 5 I got her, nursed her, and then let her stay in our bed. It was pretty exciting that she slept that long without me having to help her.
I was so proud of Maxwell today. I went to read to his class (which I do on the first Tuesday of every month during their library time) and he always cries when I leave. It's so sad and usually Ms. Cynthia has to distract him or something when I sneak out. Anyway, so this morning on the way to school he talked about how he was going to cry when I had to leave after reading to his class because he would miss me. I suggested that instead of crying he could say, "Goodbye Momma, have a good day". I tried to get him to practice it with me but he wouldn't. However, when it was time for me to leave after reading to his class he came up to me and said it with a big smile and was okay!!!! I was so proud of him! (Oh man, try reading to a bunch of 3-5 year olds during winter - - you'll have a lot of nose pickers looking at you while you read. Ew.)
Maxwell's first time using a urinal (pic courtesy of Peter). This is a big deal because normal toilets are so big for him, he's either on his tip toes or has to sit down on the toilet seat. He thought he was pretty cool.
Enjoying a little holiday eggnog the night before the night before Christmas when we started a little wrapping so we wouldn't be completely swamped on Christmas Eve like we usually are.
On Christmas Eve, we took the kids over to Brittany's so we could get a bunch of our last minute (traditional) shopping done. We had breakfast at IHOP then got to shopping.
Mmmm hot chocolate
After shopping, I met Brittany at her church we we could go to the Christmas service.
All the kids.
The service was certainly different than what I am used to but it was enjoyable. Maxwell liked parts of it but it was hard for him to sit still. Emmalyn was a wiggle worm and I nursed her to keep her quiet and still. It was nice of Brittany to invite us and it was certainly a big production.
Britt got the kids picture with Mr. and Mrs. Claus before I got there...
Emmalyn, Britt and her boys. Maxwell refused to be in the picture, naturally.
Emmalyn loves this singing monkey. I thought the singing animals would freak her out, but nope!
Emmalyn had another tooth pop through on Dec 23 - - this time it was the second tooth on the top left
We made sugar cookies that the kids decorated for Santa. I think this was the first time we've ever used those cookie cutters...
It gets late so quickly on Christmas Eve. We didn't do letters for Santa like we did last year...it was just too late and the adults still had a lot of work to do once the kids went down.
Kaitlyn was my helper with the monkey bread this year. She did an awesome job!
Monkey bread fingers
Late night wrapping and prep - - - torture
We got to bed after 1 am
Look - Santa came! (And this year he wrapped his presents in Santa Claus wrapping paper like he had wanted to do for years)
And up close look at Emmalyn and Maxwell's stash
(with the half eaten cookies that Santa enjoyed on the far left)
Wife, Mom, and Career Woman. Trying to succeed at all three. Enjoy cruising, time with friends and family, and sleeping. Busy life doesn't leave time for as much fun as in the past but that's okay, it's still a good life.
